Letter: Supports Obama, Durbin on immigration reform

A recent letter published in The State Journal-Register criticized President Barack Obama and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin on immigration reform.

The writer echoed the unrelenting chorus of politically charged complaints unleashed whenever the president and reasonable members of Congress try to actually govern. The writer simplistically connected the current surge of Central American children fleeing violence at home with recent executive-level changes to U.S. immigration policies.

Numerous facts suggest this recent so-called immigration crisis is, in fact, a humanitarian crisis with little or no connection to the policy changes in question. What does seem to correlate to the United States, however, is that the uptick in murder, rape and other violence in these countries is fueled by America’s insatiable drug demand.

Sen. Durbin has championed immigration reform his entire career. Over a year ago, he and seven colleagues — three Democrats and four Republicans, including Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona — negotiated the “Gang of Eight” legislation that passed the U.S. Senate on a bipartisan 68-32 vote. Business and labor organizations, religious leaders and law-enforcement groups supported the bill.

The majority of Americans, including conservatives, are in favor of immigration reform. I am glad that President Obama, Sen. Durbin and others continue to seek solutions to this and other pressing issues.

If the U.S. House of Representative continues to obstruct broadly negotiated legislation and reject any form of compromise on immigration reform, then I applaud President Obama for taking measured action within the scope of his legal executive powers.